The Godfatherthe 1972 film directed by the famous director Francis Ford Coppola, is an undisputed classic. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzzo, who adapted the screenplay together with the director.
As expected, it was not an easy task. The book had 400 pages and had to be turned into a film that respected the limited duration agreed with the production company. The director was forced to negotiate with Paramount Pictures to lengthen it to 175 minutes, a figure that far exceeded the initial agreement.
The adaptation became so complicated for Puzzo and Coppola that they had to hire Robert Towne, a third screenwriter who helped them refine the work done up to that point and give greater dynamism to the plot.
Even though the three tried to do it as best they could, they had to make some decisions to carry out Paramount Pictures’ orders. And one of them was to cut many of the scenes they had shot.
James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale. Unfortunately, one of those scenes involved Sonny Corleone, the character he played James Caan. It seems that this son of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) did much more than what was shown on screen.
The deleted scene is set as Sonny takes the reins of the family business while “The Godfather” was recovering after being shot five times by hitmen. For James Caan, what was cut was essential to the plot. So much so that when he noticed his absence at the first screening, he got up and left the room.
As in any family, there were arguments
Francis Ford Coppola’s films essentially have family as a common denominator. In exclusive interviews appearing on the Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD versions, the director of The Godfather He confessed that it is very important for him that the bonds between his protagonists are truly genuine.
James Caan, at the 50th anniversary screening of “The Godfather.” Photo by AFP To achieve this goal, he said he appealed to key family members (Marlon Brando, Al PacinoJames Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale and Talia Shire) met several times for dinner at an Italian restaurant in New York to get into character before filming.
With all this preparation, the director was able to turn the film into the classic it is today, and it makes sense that he ended up shooting more material than necessary. However, James Caan’s cutting of scenes was something the actor could never understand.
Before Caan passed away in July 2022, he spoke with The Hollywood journalist about how this cut affected him. “When Michael tells me he’s going to take care of the cop and Sollozzo, and I say, ‘You’re going to shit all over your niece’s Ivy League suit.’ There was a scene before, in the same room, where I was with Bobby (Duvall), which was about ten pages, and Francis cut everything out,” James said.
In San Francisco, on the anniversary of the premiere of “The Godfather.” Alex Rocco, James Caan, Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Gianni Russo, Talia Shire and Robert Duvall.“I was so angry I couldn’t watch the rest of the movie,” James recalled. Although he tried to smooth things over at the end of the interview, saying it was still “a great honor” to be a part of the film, he clearly still harbored some resentment towards the director. The Godfather for the missing material.
Perhaps the anger remained for many years because, even when special editions containing deleted material were shown, the scene did not appear. There is speculation, however, that Caan’s fury was triggered not by one scene, but by several. There was apparently a lot more footage of Sonny trying to avenge the harsh attack on his father.
Although the scenes that James Caan so regretted omitting were never shown, it is possible that they will eventually appear in a special anniversary edition.
Source: Clarin
